Chronic pain is elusive, often impossible to visualize or describe, and a continuing challenge for patients and health care providers alike. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that 76.5 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, an all encompassing term which includes pain that persists for months or years, often with no visible evidence of underlying injury. A recent Time Magazine Health Special featured an informative series of articles on the issue of chronic pain with new insights from the bench and the bedside, as well as patient stories reflecting on the challenges of living with pain.

The American Pain Foundation has produced a number of helpful online videos for patients, families and health care professionals highlighting the complex nature of pain, especially chronic pain. It is essential that pain care be a multidisciplinary process with the patient an active participant in care. You may want to check out the American Pain Foundation’s selection of online videos on their YouTube site. Take a look at “Health Professionals Making a Difference in Pain Care” to listen to health professionals and pain patients share their message.

Beliefs and expectations of a medication’s pain reducing ability may influence the amount of pain relief a patient receives from the drug, suggests a study recently published in the journal Science Translational Medicine Science. In the study, The Effect of Treatment Expectation on Drug Efficacy: Imaging the Analgesic Benefit of the Opioid Remifentanil, investigators observed that the expectation of efficacy or lack of efficacy of the potent opioid Remifentanil shaped both therapeutic and adverse effects of the medication. Those participants who believed that the drug would have a positive effect on the experimental pain condition had double the pain relief benefit as compared to those who believed that the drug would have a negative or exacerbating effect on their pain. Evidence from behavioral and neuroimaging data suggest a multifocal expression of pain in the study participants with brain activity changes correlated to the expectation of efficacy of the analgesic. The study authors conclude that integrating patients’ beliefs and expectations into pain management may produce better treatment outcomes in the future.

Applications are open for the Instructional Technology Exploration Program (ITEP) for Fall 2017 courses. ITEP offers faculty an honorarium and 1:1 support for designing, implementing, and assessing the impact of a new teaching with technology practice in a small part of a course. Read more and apply today!

That dreaded word – "nor'easter" – is in tomorrow's weather forecast, along with 6-12 inches of snow. You may already be worried about how you'll keep your class on schedule if you or your students can't get to campus. Educational Technology Services is here to help!

Instructional Continuity sounds serious, but it really just means keeping your class on schedule during disruptive times. This might mean weather events, or it might mean widespread illness — anything that keeps the students from coming to class. Just as you would prepare your home and family for a snowstorm, you can also prepare your […]

We have just added a new feature to the Tufts self-service WordPress platform. Users can now select to start from a number of different “starting templates” in order to give your new website a jump start. Read more here.

Work closely with faculty to identify and implement technological solutions to meet their educational and/or scholarly goals. Provide ongoing technical assistance during the term, and/or assist with in-depth integration of technology into course curricula or lab practices. Read More / Apply Now